Slack response on checking discretionary powers by ministries

New Delhi: Inordinate delay by ministries in putting in place measures to check arbitrariness in use of discretionary powers enjoyed by their ministers has irked the central government and prompted it to send reminders asking them to comply with its directives.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), which acts as a nodal department to coordinate with central ministries, today issued a reminder to almost all departments asking them to give details of such measures along with reasons for not complying with its directives issued about eleven months ago.

The Centre had on April 16 last year issued a circular to all ministries under it to carry out an exercise for putting in place regulating parameters for exercise of discretionary powers and put them in public domain so as to minimise arbitrariness in exercise of such powers.

In its another circular issued in May, 2012, the DoPT had asked the central government departments to send a copy of such guidelines in case they already existed. In case of absence of these measures, the DoPT had given them three months to form such guidelines.

There are more than 50 central government departments, out of which 12, including the Department of Space, Ministry of New & Renewable Energy, the Department of Information Technology, the Ministry of Labour & Employment, the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare have responded to the central government`s directive.

Department of Rural Development, Department of Agriculture Research & Education, Ministry of Power, Department of Atomic Energy and Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) have also sent their response.